Regular readers may have noticed that I have not been responding to comments as much as I have previously. There are a couple of reasons for this.
First, I have had to reprioritize my activities lately. Without getting into a lengthy exegesis of my list of activities in order of importance, comment-handling falls behind quite a few other things, most notably researching and writing the daily blog post(s). Given a finite amount of time, comments have had to slide. That may change in the future, as I enjoy the give and take of those who take the time to write, but for now is the way it will be.
Second, when I do write in the comments section, I will no longer climb into what I would call the "psychological morass." I have grown less interested in the underlying motivation behind those who post comments, and am not at all intrigued by those who wish to delve into my motivation, my background, my experiences. The latter comments are frequently wrong, and I have no reason to believe that my "insights" into others are any more valid.
What I'm saying is that I'm going to prioritize within comment handling. Those comments that have something to say about the contents of my posts, I may well find the time to sketch out a reply. If you have a link to provide to an article or another blog, whether it supports whatever contention I'm making or not, I thank you in advance for expanding my intellectual world.
If, however, your intent is to speculate on my emotional state or to provide a personal narrative that has little bearing on the content on the post, I will almost certainly not find the time to respond. I don't necessarily value those missives less, it's just that I have less to say about them than fits into my schedule. You can go on making those comments, they could well be of interest to other readers, please just don't be surprised if I choose not to take the time to join in those discussions.
Also: I've had a few comments lately that have contained some questionable language. I'm not particularly fond of these myself, as an articulate person should be able to make his or her point without profanity, but I recognize that standards are changing. More to the point, bad language reflects the writer, and readers can make up their own minds.
However, I'd be curious as to how others handle this. If you're a blogger, do you impose your own standards on matters of language, or do you let the chips fall where they may?
First, I have had to reprioritize my activities lately. Without getting into a lengthy exegesis of my list of activities in order of importance, comment-handling falls behind quite a few other things, most notably researching and writing the daily blog post(s). Given a finite amount of time, comments have had to slide. That may change in the future, as I enjoy the give and take of those who take the time to write, but for now is the way it will be.
Second, when I do write in the comments section, I will no longer climb into what I would call the "psychological morass." I have grown less interested in the underlying motivation behind those who post comments, and am not at all intrigued by those who wish to delve into my motivation, my background, my experiences. The latter comments are frequently wrong, and I have no reason to believe that my "insights" into others are any more valid.
What I'm saying is that I'm going to prioritize within comment handling. Those comments that have something to say about the contents of my posts, I may well find the time to sketch out a reply. If you have a link to provide to an article or another blog, whether it supports whatever contention I'm making or not, I thank you in advance for expanding my intellectual world.
If, however, your intent is to speculate on my emotional state or to provide a personal narrative that has little bearing on the content on the post, I will almost certainly not find the time to respond. I don't necessarily value those missives less, it's just that I have less to say about them than fits into my schedule. You can go on making those comments, they could well be of interest to other readers, please just don't be surprised if I choose not to take the time to join in those discussions.
Also: I've had a few comments lately that have contained some questionable language. I'm not particularly fond of these myself, as an articulate person should be able to make his or her point without profanity, but I recognize that standards are changing. More to the point, bad language reflects the writer, and readers can make up their own minds.
However, I'd be curious as to how others handle this. If you're a blogger, do you impose your own standards on matters of language, or do you let the chips fall where they may?
1 comment:
Your dilemma is similar to that of Janitor Compliant who really does not intend to attract the crowd of no-teeth, Joe the loser, and the Pit-Bull brain.
Janitor Compliant did not want to associate with the crowd, but they keep coming to his rallies and won't go away!
Just kidding.
Post a Comment